All Christians are called to be holy (1 Peter 1:15) and in the New Testament the term 'saints' is used to describe members of the Christian community as people 'set apart' in Christ Jesus to live consecrated lives. Gradually, the word came to be used to describe those Christians who had lived exemplary lives and had died but are now alive with God in heaven.

Over the centuries, the Christian Church has recognised or 'canonised' people of great holiness, sometimes by a formal process and sometimes by popular acclamation or local custom. There are saints who are universally recognised and those whose lives are normally recognised in particular countries, churches, dioceses or religious communities. The Common Worship Calendar contains a variety of such saints and some of these have had a particular connection with the Diocese of Oxford (Charles Gore, Thomas Cranmer, Harriet Monsell, John and Charles Wesley, John Keble, John Henry Newman, St Birinus, Edward Pusey, William Tyndale, Thomas Traherne, Richard Hooker, St Edmund of Abingdon, John Wyclif).

The names included in this Diocesan Calendar with short biographies, are those who had a definite link with our Diocese and whose lives of holiness have enriched the life of the church in their witness to Christ. This may be through the things they said or did, in the way they lived their lives or the way in which they died. Such lives often witness to God's love and grace, proclaim the truth of the gospel and bring others closer to God.

As we embrace the principles of Sharing Life, we are called to live our lives centred on God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to reach out to the world and its needs, to seek new ways of connecting with people and to be serious about our Christian discipleship. We give thanks for the lives and examples of those in our Diocese who have lived such lives and we rejoice in the communion of saints that unites the church on earth with the church in heaven.

All entries are Commemorations and at the Daily Office and Eucharist, the Collect, written by the Very Revd Robert Jeffrey, may be used.